stillness
by bobtheacorn
Summary: Coran finds something interesting on the scanners and takes everyone on a detour for some well-deserved rest and reflection. / 2017's platonicvldmonth; day 8 - stargazing


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stillness

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"What's going on? Did we pick up a distress signal?"

Shiro is glad to see the younger paladins already assembled along with Coran and Allura when he strides into the bridge. He had been putting together a simulation in the training room when a silent alarm tripped, alerting everyone aboard that the ship had just entered a planet's atmosphere. Since they hadn't planned on descending from open space anytime soon, Shiro had come running. He's a little winded, but everyone else seems at ease, so he relaxes.

In answer to his questions, Lance helpfully offers up a shrug.

"Coran took us down," Pidge says, crossed legged in their seat behind a monitor. They nudge their glasses up. "But I'm barely picking up any biorhythms at all on this planet - let alone a distress signal."

Shiro steps toward the helm, frowning slightly, "Coran, you want to give us some answers?"

"Oh, alright," Coran says, still prodding at the monitors with one hand. The other is tucked behind his back. "I suppose I've already spoiled the surprise of it. But you all assembled much quicker than your first time - that's progress!"

"Coran," Allura says patiently, "Even I don't know what we're doing here. Why did you alter the castle's navigation without consulting anyone?"

"I just thought everyone deserved a little break," Coran says, smiling behind his mustache, "We've been liberating planets left and right. You don't want to overexert yourselves. And I found something interesting on the scanners that you all might enjoy! This planet has an atmosphere very similar to Earth! Except for the wildlife, it's seemingly uninhabited, so there's no sign of Galra activity."

Now that the heat of the atmosphere is no longer discoloring the view outside in hues of purple and red, a landscape that is still fathoms below begins to fill the screens, spotted here and there with bright, low hanging clouds. It's a mountainous, rocky shoreline, bathed in green, with glinting waves that smash against it and curve off into the distance. Lance makes an excited noise at the sight of the ocean and launches up from his seat, running to the front.

Hunk says, "Oh wow, it really does look like Earth!" Pidge leans around their monitor with their mouth open in surprise. Even Keith steps closer to have a better look, his brow knotted.

Lance whirls away from the view, eyes bright.

"Open a bay door, I'm jumping in!"

"No," Shiro says firmly, because he knows Lance will - even at this altitude.

"Aw c'mon I'll wear my suit!"

"That won't save you from the fall," Keith says. He's not trying to be hostile, just bewildered by Lance's lack of common sense in thoroughly considering at what rate of speed his body will be hitting the surface of the water.

Lance is too enamored with the ocean to really invest himself in starting an arguement, because all he shoots back is a dismissive, "It won't save _you_ from the fall."

Keith misses the point by about a yard. "I wasn't going to jump…"

Shiro rubs his forehead.

"What's this all about, Coran?" he asks, uncertain as to whether or not he really wants to be the one to call this a waste of time. It was a nice sentiment. But they really have much bigger things to worry about at the moment than quelling (or upsetting) a little homesickness.

Poking at the monitor, Coran hedges,

"Any of you Earthians ever been in the line of totality for an eclipse before?"

There's a surprised and thoughtful silence. Forehead pressed against the screens, hair filled with static, Lance hums out loud, "I think one passed over North America a couple years back? But it missed us."

"Same," Pidge says. They've left their seat to come forward, too. "I tried to watch a livestream, but there were so many people trying to do the same thing that my server crashed. I was _furious._ By the time I'd hacked into a NASA satellite to watch, the whole thing was over."

"I think I was in the States, then," Hunk says, finger on his chin as he tries to recall, "Yeah, I was at an engineering convention? For like, all that Garrison recruitment junk? Or something, I don't remember. Anyway, I was probably taking apart an engine and didn't get to see it. I know everybody was talking about it for _weeks_ , though, traffic in and out of the city was _crazy."_

"Pretty sure I was in space at the time," Shiro says slowly.

He doesn't elaborate. He also doesn't know where Coran is going with this.

Allura looks a bit wistful. "Eclipses back on Altea were marvelous… It was always so _quiet._ "

Coran looks more or less pleased with these answers.

"I thought that may be the case," he says, "And since I was right, you're all in for a real treat! I happened to catch this on the scanners while we were plotting our course the other day - this planet and its two moons all happen to align with this system's parent star today. From the surface here, we'll be able to see a solar eclipse that should last about four dobashes."

 _"Four -_ that's like _five minutes,"_ Pidge exclaims, "That's _three whole minutes_ longer than on Earth, are you serious!"

"As serious as a roklak looking after it's nest! The overlap should look something like this."

Coran pulls up a hologram and they all turn their faces up to watch the three blue celestial bodies coming together. The simulation is lackluster, to say the least, but that doesn't stop the younger paladins from bubbling over with excitement.

"The huge black dot swallows the little black dot in a glob of light like a giant Pac man," Hunk says, grinning, "I love it! Let's do it! Please please _please_ , can we do it?"

He directs this at Shiro, pumping his fists. They're all looking at him expectantly - even Allura - and Shiro can think of a lot of valid reasons to say no. But he can't bring himself to voice any of them.

"We could use a break." A chorus of cheers go up as Shiro turns back to the helm and smiles. "Take us somewhere nice Coran."

"You got it." Coran turns, devoting his attention to the console.

Hunk bolts from the room, "I'm making snacks!" and Lance follows him out, already talking about the ocean and the feel of real sand between his toes and how he _hopes_ it's salt water because what's the point if it isn't. Shiro stops Pidge from leaving too, with a gentle hand on their shoulder.

"It won't hurt to run a few scans to be sure we're alone out here," he says, "I don't want any surprises."

"That's fair," Pidge says, already pulling up screens.

Shiro sees Keith easing his way over to stand beside Coran - arms folded, shoulders forward, looking like he wants to say something while he watches the coordinates being punched in.

-x-

The planet's sun is just past its apex when they finally disembark from the ship, tec and provisions stowed in backpacks and containment units, divided up between them. Hunk and Lance put an entire picnic together, and then Hunk and Pidge raided the castle for equipment to record the eclipse with on every possible spectrum. It's become a bit more of an ordeal than Coran probably originally intended -

And not everyone is happy about the location.

"Keith picks the _desert_ over the mountains or the beach." Lance scuffs a foot in the dirt, annoyed and disappointed, "Why am I not surprised."

"You can always stay on the ship," Keith snaps, bristling.

"If you're going to start this you can both stay on the ship." Shiro tries to say it calmly, but some sharpness works its way into his voice. He sighs, but doesn't apologize because they both go silent, and maybe they'll think better before they open their mouths to snipe at one another.

Pidge is undaunted. They ruck their backpack further up onto their shoulders and jog out from under the flat shadow cast by the ship.

"Hunk, there's an outcropping of rocks, let's set up over there!"

"Hang on, Pidge, tables first!"

"Equipment tables first, snack tables later!"

"Uhhgg, fine! Lance, gimme a hand with these."

"Fine…"

Lance swings his own pack down into the dirt, sending up a puff of dust, and he glowers at Keith as he moves to help Hunk carry tables after Pidge. Keith ignores him and hangs back, looking more withdrawn and surlier than usual. He grabs one end of the cooler, starts to drag it out on his own, and doesn't say anything to Allura when she sneaks up to lift the other end of it.

Maintaining some distance between Lance and others, Allura turns to Keith a few paces out from the ship and asks softly, "So why did you pick the desert? It's lovely in it's own way, I suppose, but I don't quite see the appeal."

Keith shrugs noncommittally, and when he doesn't offer up a proper response, Allura doesn't press him for one. She turns her gaze outward, observing the scenery - what little there is, at any rate. The ground stretches flatly into the distance, red and brown and orange under the face of the sun, broken up by the occasional cluster of dry grass and trees blistered by the lack of water, and by dunes and low hills further out. It isn't necessarily bleak, but it is a tad uninviting. The weather is at least comfortable - not as warm here are they expected, being later in the season perhaps, or just at a higher altitude. It's comfortable, with thin clouds stripped across the pale blue sky, moving slowly.

-x-

Pidge is seated on a containment unit that they've pulled up to one of the tables, hammering away at their computer, reaching up every now and then to adjust the polarity on some gizmo. Lance is beside them, leaning back against the table and reaching up to poke whatever Pidge has just painstakingly adjusted. Since he can't aggravate Keith, he has targeted Pidge, instead. The difference is: the third or fourth time he reaches to touch something of theirs, Pidge's mean little fingers latch onto the back of his hand and twist without warning or remorse.

Lance yelps, wrestling free.

"You and Hunk! Honestly, what is it with you touching my stuff all the time?"

"I want to know how it works and Lance wants attention."

"Basically."

"You're children," Pidge says, annoyed.

"Alright, lets just simmer down," Coran says good naturedly, consulting what looks like a pocket watch but is way more advanced, "We've still got a varga or so before anything really interesting happens."

Seated nearby with the mice on her shoulders, Allura lifts a blue card in front of her as she tips her head back. The thin, sturdy sheet throws a deep blue shadow across her face. It's made out of the same material as the face shields on their space helmets, so it filters out any dangerous light and allows them to watch the progress of the eclipse without worrying about the danger of blindness.

"I think something is happening now, actually," she says excitedly, carefully pointing with her free hand so she doesn't jostle the mice.

Hunk holds his card up with both hands. "Oooh man, it really does look like Pac man, Lance, _look!"_

They spend the next five minutes making _wakka-wakka-wakka_ noises and nipping each other and anyone within range with their hands. Because Allura doesn't understand the reference, Shiro explains. His unexpected knowledge sparks a heated debate, a comparison of high scores and game dynamics. Shiro's infamous high score evidently surpasses Lance's and Pidge's both by about two dozen points.

"You're all too young to really understand the nuances of Pac man," he says, trying to get a rise out of them, though it backfires.

"Vintage is _cool_ , Shiro."

"Yeah, old things are in! Why do you think we have so much respect for you?"

"Oohoho! Pidge!"

Keith sits apart from everyone else, rolling an unopened space caprisun between his hands and staring out across the desert.

-x-

Coran is correct (he does not fail to point this out, either)when he says that it takes a little over an hour before both moons begin to overlap in earnest, blanking out the sun. The shift in light is subtle at first. Flatter, bluer, pulling the look of warmth out of the ground as the stark, narrow veins of light strike through the atmosphere. Where occasionally they were hearing the foreign scuffle and chirp of alien wildlife, the area has become quiet and still as if dusk were falling.

It's peaceful, but the anticipation is building.

Lance, standing on the cooler, is the first to spot the shadow. When he shouts, the others follow his frantic gestures to their left. The shadow swallows up the distance in a wave of darkness, like an approaching storm. A second one, cast by the other moon, is creeping toward them from the opposite side. Hunk doesn't know whether to watch the shadows' slow but swift journey across the land or the bodies overhead finally aligning.

Totality hits, and dimness sweeps across the desert. It scoops the warmth right out of the air. A stillness, cold and surreal, drops into its place. The sky purples, bruising, and brighter constellations start peaking out, dotting the deep sky in swatches. Shiro is the first one to lower his card, looking full on at the sun - a black disk with waves of light floating all along the edges, purple, blue, and glowing white.

In a way, it's humbling. It reminds him a lot of why he loves space in the first place.

Pidge breaks the sudden silence, "Oh wow that is _amazing_ ," but they're staring at their computer screen, gripping the edge of the keyboard. Moving to stand behind them, Lance wordlessly grabs their face in his hands and turns it up. Pidge only fights and protests out of surprise. Once they actually look up, they stop. They don't even knock Lance's hands down.

 _"Oh."_

"Oooh, look!"

This time it's Hunk, loud enough to make them all start out of their reverie. He's pointing, and everyone looks - only he's spinning, pointing all around, and they all turn in unison to take in the grand sweep of it. Rich colors bloom up out of the dark silhouettes in the distance, a sunset and sunrise rolled into one that circles their entire field of vision at the edge of the shadow. Deep purple fading into neon pink, sliced through with orange. Thin clouds shining bright yellow and shadowed in gold. Hot blue glowing in thin streaks out of the dark of space.

Under the shadow, the desert is muted and soft, almost glowing. And all along the edges it is otherworldly, too bright to imagine.

-x-

Lance spectacularly and thoroughly ruins the moment by suddenly belting out Bonnie Tyler's _Total Eclipse of the Heart_. Pidge groans as soon as they recognize the first verse, then Hunk is joining in, and he and Lance throw their arms around each other and around Pidge and start rocking and crooning at the top of their lungs. Their voices echo in the silence, filling up the empty space, and even though Pidge squawks, "I hate this song!" they don't try very hard to extricate themself from the drama.

Allura watches them, bemused.

"Is this some sort of ritual on Earth?" she asks carefully.

"No," Shiro says, his head in his hands.

-x-

The phenomenon lasts long enough for Pidge to enjoy it with their own eyes and then also collect as much avid data as they want. Hunk hovers over their shoulder because he's interested in the data also, but he keeps looking up and around with this big, awestruck grin on his face. Seeing something like this from space is one thing, but seeing it from the ground is different - amazing. Allura and Coran have their shoulders together, reminiscing about their home planet. Lance is standing on the cooler again with his hands clasped on top of his head, counting the stars blinking in and out.

Keith has wandered further out from the others, standing on his own with his back to them.

Something's clearly on his mind. He's been distracted lately, quiet. Shiro starts to get up and go over to him, but wonders if maybe what Keith needs instead is just some space and time to think.

It's in this brief moment of hesitation that Shiro loses his opportunity.

Lance hops down off the cooler, flips the lid open and snatches up something from within, then jogs across the few yards to join Keith.

He stuffs both hands in his pockets, hiding whatever he's carrying, and knocks his shoulder against Keith's once he draws level with him. They're too far away to hear, but Shiro remains where he is. Keith's body language is still guarded, tense, but after a few seconds he visibly relaxes, while Lance talks and gestures animatedly. He's not as oblivious to what he's doing as he seems to want everyone else to think he is. As an afterthought, Lance takes out whatever's in his pocket and drops it into Keith's hand - one of the snacks Hunk packed, because he noticed Keith hasn't eaten anything today.

Keith stares at it, and then looks at Lance, whose face is turned toward the sky.

-x-

Lance drags Keith back into the fray, melancholy broken and replaced with a slim smile, and he utilized their last full moments of totality to start up a howl. Lance swings an arm around Keith's shoulders so he can't run away, throws his head back, and once he howls, they all start up; Lance, then Pidge, then Hunk, then even Keith, until their voices rise and fall in chorus.

"Is _this_ an Earth ritual?" Allura asks over the noise.

"Yes," Shiro says, because if nothing else it is something very human.

Allura picks up her skirts and hastens to join the younger paladins. She cups her hands around her mouth and squeezes in between their open arms, eager to share in their culture no matter how silly or primal what they're doing seems to her. The mice are graciously left out of this cacophony. Shiro turns to share an earnest grin with Coran, and then gets up.

The chorus starts anew as they all stand together, and the light returns, growing slowly.

The shadow passes.

-x-

(A/n) Written forplatonic vld month; day 8 - stargazing. The eclipse was an Experience and I just wanted to write about it so this was just suuuuppper self-indulgent. A SUN IS A STAR, FIGHT ME.

-BobTAC


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